Aberdeen manager Jimmy Thelin insists he will have no fears on throwing his new signings into the heat of Ibrox tomorrow.
Defenders Alexander Jensen and Alfie Dorrington were the latest arrivals of a busy January transfer window when they signed on at Pittodrie on Monday.
The Dons have clearance through for Spurs defender Dorrington, who has joined on loan for the rest of the season, and hope to have clearance through in time for Danish utility player Jensen to be involved in Wednesday’s trip to Rangers.
With full backs Jack Mackenzie and Jack Milne absent due to injury and central defender Slobodan Rubezic suspended, Thelin is ready to turn to his new arrivals to bolster his backline.
He said: “The injury problems we have just now have challenged the squad.
“We need to just be sensible. They have just arrived and we need to give them some time to prepare themselves, but they’re going to be involved in the squad tomorrow.
“But they also need to be sensible so they don’t get any setbacks themselves, so we can keep everybody fresh to compete at the end of the season.
“I know Alexander well from Sweden. He can play on both sides, left and right.
“His game understanding is really good, how he anticipates the game with the ball, and his capacity to run.
“Now he’s coming from pre-season, so he hasn’t been given time, but he has the capacity to keep the intensity of the game.
“Alfie is a good centre-back who is good with the ball, but also his pace and, of course, his background, how he understands the game can help us also during the season.”
‘We wanted to strengthen competition for positions’
Jensen could feature at left back if clearance comes through in time but Thelin believes his new recruit’s versatility will bring some much needed competition for places at Pittodrie.
The Dons boss said: “He’s here to compete. I think it’s always good to have some internal competition for every player to feel like you have to be your best every day in training.
“We wanted to strengthen the competition of the positions internally and hopefully that also makes all the players better.
“He can play both sides, so I think that’s where we are right now. But in the long term, he’s good on both sides.
“He has a good game understanding in build-up, but can also be a full-back who’s running up and down and overlapping with crosses.
“He has quite a lot of different sides on his side he can show, depending on how we use him.”
Dons boss has not ruled out adding more new faces this month
The arrival of defensive reinforcements takes the number of new faces at the club this month to four but Thelin is still eager to add to his squad before the window closes.
The Dons boss also confirmed some players may move on from the club this month.
Thelin said: “The window is open and let’s see what’s happening. We always try to strengthen the team.
“Sometimes we don’t do anything more and sometimes maybe we do.
“Let’s see how the team develops now and which players can be closer to coming back, but still it’s a lot of weeks for most of the players, so let’s see how the game goes tomorrow and the cup game at the weekend.”
When asked if players could move out this month the Dons boss said: “It can happen and let’s see.
“We have talked with some players and we have to see what is best for everyone in the long term.”
‘We have a clear plan of what we want to do tomorrow’
The Dons produced their best performance of the season when they beat Rangers 2-1 at Pittodrie when the sides last met on October 30.
But the Dons have faltered since then, dropping to fourth in the table, nine points behind the Ibrox outfit who are now in second place.
Wednesday will be Thelin’s first visit to Ibrox but the Dons boss has dismisses suggestions the pressure is off his team.
He said: “I don’t think the pressure is off. For us, it’s most important how we grow because we have been through a challenging time and we need to get a little bit better every game.
“We’re going to keep building on some parts from the last game and move on to the next game and try to be better tomorrow.
“It’s a tough challenge, of course, and every game is difficult and you have to be ready to compete.
“Also, the intensity between these two teams when they play against each other, the atmosphere is a good challenge to have right now, and our focus is on giving our best performance so we can and try to get some points from there.
“You always have to believe that you can do something when you go into a game and compete.
“We have a clear plan of what we want to do tomorrow. But also, Rangers have been good at home, we know that.
“We have to be really good and believe in what we’re doing and give everything we can.”
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